Niflheim (Niflheimr) is one of the nine worlds that make up the foreseeable part of the Universe in the myths of the German-Scandinavian peoples. The most common translation of this word is "abode of mists", however, some researchers put forward a different version. In their opinion, this name should be understood as "dark lands" or, perhaps, "world of darkness". Niflheim is one of the so-called "lower worlds" and is adjacent to the world abyss Ginnungagap, located to the north of it. On the southern side of the bottomless abyss is the kingdom of Muspelheim, the personification of an eternally blazing fire and unbearable heat.
According to the information presented in the "Younger Edda", Niflheim and Muspelheim are the first worlds that arose from the primordial Chaos. Legends say that at the beginning of time in Niflheim came the spring Hvergelmir or the "Boiling Cauldron". However, the cold that reigned in the then young world was so great that the water from the source instantly turned into ice blocks. Gradually, the ice became more and more, because The "boiling cauldron" had tremendous power and continued to expel more and more streams of water. The ice hummocks, pushing against each other, moved farther and farther from the source, thus pushing the boundaries of Niflheim. The movement of ice stopped only in the immediate vicinity of Muspelheim, the heat of which was able to melt the frozen water.
The stream of water from the "boiling cauldron", called "Elivagar", froze at some point, filling the world's abyss to the brim. Due to the proximity of the heat emanating from the kingdom of fire, frost began to form on the surface of the ice, and the sparks that reached it were able to awaken to life the first creature in the Universe - the frost giant Ymir. This character is a key figure in Scandinavian mythology, as the entire material earthly world was created from his body (according to another, less widespread, version - the rest of the worlds, including the abode of the gods). Ymir's descendants laid the foundation for the family of giants-grimtursen. Most experts are inclined to believe that, in the understanding of the ancient Scandinavians, Ymir is the entire universe, in the broadest sense of this concept.
After all the events described above, Niflheim regained its present form, turning into a dark kingdom of eternal cold. Sunlight cannot penetrate the dense clouds of constant fog that envelop the ice blocks scattered over the fields of frozen water. Traditionally, it is believed that the only inhabitants of Niflheim are the frost giants, the direct descendants of Ymir. At first glance, this statement looks quite logical, since no one else can withstand the constant cold and eternal darkness that reigns in this world. However, in the already mentioned "Younger Edda" of Snorri Sturlusson, it is directly stated that the roots of the world tree Yggdrasil are supported by three forces - the aces gods, frost giants, while the third root stretches to the world of Niflheim. Those. the frost giants and Niflheim appear to be separated from each other. It is not excludedthat in this gloomy and cold world there is no life at all in the usual sense, and it is an endless ice desert. This possibility is indirectly indicated by the fact that it is here that Helheim is located - the kingdom of the dead, enclosed by an insurmountable wall, the possession of the ominous giantess goddess Hel.
It is quite possible that Greenland became the prototype of Niflheim with its "ice sheet" and floating icebergs, whose landscapes may resemble the gloomy panoramas of the "underworld" of the Scandinavian sagas.
